Tribute paid to Order leader

Tributes have been paid to a former County Grand Master of the Orange Order in Tyrone.

Tom Reid died peacefully at his home in Omagh on Wednesday with his wife Louie and sons Henry Alan and Geoffrey.

He was County Grand Master of the Orange Order from 1985-1998, a member of the Board of Governors of Dervaghroy Primary School and was presented with the Royal Maundy by the Queen in Armagh in 2008 in recognition of his service to the Presbyterian Church.

Rev Norman Smyth of Clougherney Presbyterian Church said Mr Reid was a well-known and highly respected elder in the congregation, across the Presbytery of Omagh and in the General Assembly.

“He was an able preacher and an astute Clerk of Session, having a deep grasp of the Scriptures and of the workings of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland,” he said.

“Tom was a shepherd twice over. He loved to farm sheep and could have been met on his quad after checking his sheep up until just a few months ago. Tom also had a shepherd’s heart for the spiritual well-being of the Church family in Clogherney and was a faithful visitor of the sick and elderly. I knew I could always count on him as a friend ready with wise counsel.”